Bicycle-boat



(No Model.)

' 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. R. L. BDULTER.

BICYCLE BOAT. I

Patented Apr. 7, 1896.

ANDREW asRAMAM, PHm'u-umawASmNGmN. D l:V

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

R.'L. BOULTER.

BICYCLE BOAT. No. 557,647. Patented Apr. "7, 1896.

, l i j j l i* l Mfg/fi. W12 .6, wwf

AN DREW s GRAHAM. Pr-ltl'D-Ln'm)4 WASHINGmN. D C

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Modem I R. L. BOULTBR. BICYCLE BOAT. No. 557,647, Y Patented Apr. 7, 1896 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROYAL L. BOULTER, OF GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA.

BICYCLE-BOAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 557,647, dated April '7, 1896. Application filed September 2l, 1895. Serial No. 563,164. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, ROYAL L. BOULTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Forks, in the county of Grand Forks and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bicycle-Boats; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved bicycle-boat.

To this end my invention consists of the novel features of construction hereinafter described, and defined in the claims.

'The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein, like letters and numerals referring to like parts throughout the several views- Figure l is a perspective view of my improved boat with some parts broken away. Fig. 2 is a plan view with some parts shown in horizontal section and others broken away. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line :e t of Fig. 2, looking toward the front of the boat. Fig. 4 is a skeleton view, chiefly in section, in a plane through the crank-shaft and the paddle-shaft bearings, with some parts broken away and others removed. Fig. 5 is a detail showing connection of a frame to one of the boats; and Fig. 6 is a detail, partly in section, showing connection for adjusting the paddlewheel shaft in respect to the frame.

The numeral l represents a pair of boats, which are preferably of the Canoe type.

The numerals 2, 2S, 5, 6, and 7 represent the principalparts of the rigid or main frame. Of the said parts the members are tubular pieces or rods arranged lengthwise of the boats l and secured to bed-pieces S in the bottoms of the said boats by means of trunnion-bearings a, fixed to the tubes, and boxes c, which are fixed to the bed-pieces S, as best shown in Figs. l, 2, 3, and 5. rlhe bed-pieces S are preferably made of wood and are fixed to the ribs of the boat-body. The lower halves of the boxes d are permanently fixed to the bed-boards S, and the upper halves of the said boxes are removably secured to the lower halves by screw-bolts co2, or in any other suitable way.

The trunnion-pieces d are set into the ends of the tubes 2 in any suitable way. The frame-pieces il are composed o f tubular rods bent into yokelike form, with their vertical sections extending downward into the boats and brazed fast to the bottom tubes 2, as shown, so as to be rigid therewith. The frame members 4 are composed of tubes which have their lower ends brazed fast to the horizontal sections of the yoke-like pieces 3 and converge to a junction with the cap 5 at their upper ends, to which caps the upper ends of the said tubes 4 are brazed or otherwise made rigid therewith. The caps 5 are hollow and serve to adord seats for the ends of the backbone or top piece 6, which is preferably composed of wood, and is secured to the caps 5 by bolts o3, or in any other suitable way. The frame member 7 is preferably a wooden bar extending centrally between the boats and supported by stirrups 9, fixed to the horizontal sections of the frame members 3. The said bar T may also be braced in any suitable way by means, (not shown,) in addition to the stirrups 9, for rendering the same perfectly rigid with the other parts of the main frame. The vertical sections of the yokes are braced by diagonal stays l0, which connect the same to the bottom tubes 2, as best shown in Fig. l. The horizontal and vertical sections are also braced by the stays l l, connecting the two sections near their corners, as best shown in Figs. l and 3.

Vith the construction above described it is obvious that the parts marked with the numerals to ll, inclusive, constitute a rigid frame, which is supported by the boats l, and to which frame the said boats l are independently pivoted by the parts oy a', with freedom for lateral rocking motion, in respect to the frame.

It must be noted -that the pivotal connections between the boats and the frame sup ported thereby are made at points below the centers of buoyancy of the said boats. This fea-ture of construction is of the utmost importance, as in virtue of the same, the weight from the frame being thereby applied to said boats below their said centers of buoyancy, said boats will under the action of their own buoyancy seek and tend to remain in upright positions. In case the boats were pivoted to the frame at points above their centers of IOO buoyancy it would require auxiliary devices to prevent said boats from turning upside down. It is also obvious that by the removal of the upper halves of the boxes d the frame and the boats m ay be readily separated at will.

O11 the backbone or upper frame-bar 6 is adj ustably mounted a riders seat 12, which is securable in any desired vertical adjustment by clamping-screw d4. On the lower bar 7, in proper position in respect tothe seat 12, is properly mounted the crankshaft 13 with crank-arms 14, which have pedals 15 at their outer ends. The bearings for the said crank-shaft are afforded by the yoke or fixed sleeve member 1G, cast integral with the plate 17, which is bolted to the frame-piece 7. The said sleeve-casting 16 is provided with concave flanged ends, as shown at b, which serve as the cups for cooperation with the cones 1S to hold the ball-bearings 19. The cones 18 have screw-threaded engagement with the crank-shaft 13 for effecting their proper adjustments in respect to the cups and are held wherever set by jam-nuts 20.

rihe peri pheries of the cup-fianges D on the sleeve-casting 16 are grooved, and in the same, as seats, are mounted the strap or yoke ends of a pair of radius bars or rods 21, which are connected by a cross-bar 22 and carry at their outer ends the paddle-wheel shaft 23, having fixed to its opposite ends the paddle-wheels 2l. The outer ends of the radius-bars 21 are screw-threaded, as shown at b, and pass through enlarged holes b2 in abearing-castin g 25. On the said screw-threaded portion b of said radius-bars work shouldered or stepped nuts 26, the stepped or reduced portions of which engage in the ends of the passage b2 and clamp the radius-bars to the casting 25 while spacing the radius-bar apart from the walls of the passage b2 in the casting.

The castings 25 have enlarged passages b3 transversely of the passages b2, through which passages b3 extends the paddle-wheel shaft 23. The casting 25 is properly formed with concave surfaces b4 at the ends of the passage Z* to form the cups for cooperation with the cones ..7 to hold the ball-bearings 28. The cones 27 have screw-threaded engagement with the shaft 23 and may be secured, wherever set thereon, by jam-nuts 29. In this way the paddle-shaft 23 is mounted in ball bearings and is vertically adjustable with the radius-bars 21 in the arc of a circle for a limited distance up and down in respect to the main frame. A yoke-like hanger 30 straddles the backbone or top bar G of the main frame, with its arms working through clamp-action keepers 31 on said bar and pivotally secured at their lower ends to the castings 25. By means of this hanger 30 and the clamps 31 the radius-bars 21 and the paddlewheel shaft 23 may be suspended from the backbone 6 of the main frame at any desired level.

The paddle-wheels 21 are adjustable lengthwise of the shaft 23 and secnrable in any desired position thereon by means of set-screws 32, which adjustment of the paddle-wheels enables them to be so set on the shaft 23 as to make the boats run true under the propelling action thereon.

In respect to the details of the paddle-wheels 21, it is probably sufcient to note that the paddles or blade c thereof are so set in the paddle-wheel rims c' that they will not carry the water back upward under the movement of the wheel.

On the crank-shaft 13 is fixed a sprocketwheel 33, connected by chain 34 with a relatively small sprocket-wheel 35 on the paddie-wheel shaft 23. Hence under the pedaling action the paddle-wheel shaft will be turned in the same direction as the crankshaft and will impart the same motion to the paddle-wheels 24.

The rudder-blade 3G is pivoted to the rudder head or shaft 37, which is mounted in the rear end of the bar 7, and a bearing-brace 33 secured thereto. The cross-arms 39 of the rudder are connected by cross-wires or other iiexible connections et() to the cross-bar or lower arms '-11 of a steering-shaft 42, which is journaled in the lower frame-bar 7 and extends upward through a slot d in the upper frame-bar 6 and is provided at its upper end with handle-bars 13. A cross-bolt il, eX- tending through the slotted part of the top frame-bar 6, serves as a means to set the steering-shaft under suflicient friction, so as to remain wherever set. lith this arrangement of the steering mechanism, it is obvious that the rider can operate the rudder by manipulating the handle-bar 13 in the same way as the handle-bar of an ordinary bicycle.

The boats 1 are connected by chains -15 IOO with the horizontal sections of the yoke-pieces 3 of the main frame for limiting the inward rocking motion of the boat. The outward rocking motion of the boat is limited by the gunwales of the boats striking the said horizontal sections of the said frame-pieces 3. Suitable buffers (not shown) could be provided on the said frame-pieces 3 or on the gunwales of the boats to avoid injury to the boats when striking the said frame-pieces in their rocking action.

The operation must be obvious from the description already given. The boats are properly spaced apart by the rigid or main frame to afford the requisite clearance between the boats for the action of the paddlewheels. The hanger 30 may be set to permit the paddle-wheels to dip in the water to any desired depth or to raise the same above the level of the water at will. Supposing the boats to be in the water, the operator rides on the seat 12 and operates the crank-shaft with the pedaling action exactly in the same way as if riding a bicycle. Motion will thereby be imparted to the paddle-wheels at an increased speed, depending upon the relative proportions of the sprocket-wheels 33 and 35. Un-

der the action of the paddle-wheels the boats IIO will be moved forward, and may be steered in any desired direction by the proper manipulation of the rudder through the handle-bar i3 and its connections. rThe rudder, however, will not require constant attention, inasmuch as the shaft 42 will be held by the clamping action of the bolt 4i in whatever position it may be set. The fact that the rudder-blade 36 is pivoted to the rudder-head 37 permits the said blade to rise when meeting an obstruction, thereby adapting the same for action in shallow water.

The pivotal connections of the boats to the main or rigid frame, for permitting the lateral rocking motion, is an important feature, inasmuch as it enables the boats to adapt themselves to the action of the waves with little or no tilting motion of the main frame.

The relative arrangement of the screwthreaded ends of the radius-bars 2l to the bearing-castings 25 and the stepped nuts 26 is an important feature, inasmuch as this construction aifords a convenient means for adj usting the paddle-wheel shaft 23 in respect to the radius-bars 2l, and thereby affords a means-of tightening orloosening the sprocketchain 3l.

The ball-bearings for the crank-shaft and the paddle-wheel shaft render the drivingshaft comparatively free from friction, and therefore comparatively easy to the operator for any given load.

By actual experience with this form of boat l have found that one person can readily propel the machine, when loaded with four persons in the boats besides the rider on the frame, at the rate of eight miles per hour in still water. Otherwise stated, a much larger load can be carried at a much higher speed than when the boats are manipulated by oars, and this machine is also much safer than an ordinary boat, because it is much less liable to be overturned by the waves.

The machine is also comparatively cheap to make and has an artistic appearance.

Having regard to the main or rigid frame of the machine, I preferably add to the main parts thereof, hitherto noted, additional parts consisting of the spacing gas pipes or spools l and tie-rods 4:7, for spacing apart and rigidly connecting the upper and lower framebeams 6 and 7, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings. By the addition of the said spacingspools a6 and said tie-rods a7 the said beams G and 7 are not only spaced apart and tied together, but are rendered rigid with each other and freinforced for withstanding the weight of the rider and the downward thrust on the crank-shaft under the pedaling action. rl`his same result might, of course, be accomplished by braces otherwise constructed and arranged with respect to the said upper and lower frame-beams G and 7 5 but the said spools G and tie-rods 47 afford convenient devices for the purposes had in view.

In practice the main or rigid frame would preferably be made of wood, so as to have no sinkable material about the boat. The braces 46 would also, preferably, be arranged diagonally sloping upward and outward from the lower beam 7 to a junction with the upper beam 6, and the tie-rods 47 would retain vertical positions, but be independent of the braces 46. This would make all parts of the frame cooperate with a trussing action.

It will be understood, of course, that many of the details of the construction of the machine herein shown and described might be changed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

iVhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters'Patent of the United States, is as follows l. The combination with a bicycle -like frame and drive, of a pair of boats supporting and pivoted to said frame at points below the centers of buoyancy of said boats, and one or more paddle-wheels carried by said frame and operated through said drive, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a bicycle-like frame and drive, of a pair of boats supporting and pivoted to said frame at points below the centers of buoyancy of said boats, one or more paddlewheels carried by said frame and operated through said drive, and a rudder on said frame with steering connections involving a handle-bar within reach of the rider on said frame, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a pair of boats, of a frame to which said boats are attached, a riders seat and a pedal-action crank-shaft mounted on said frame, radius-bars pivoted on the xed bearing box or yoke for the crankshaft, a pair of paddle-wheels on a common shaft mounted in the outer ends of said radius-bars, and a hanger depending from the frame for suspending the outer ends of said radius-bars and the paddle-wheels at any desired height, substantially as described.

4. In the machine substantially as described,the combination with the crank-shaft, paddle-wheel shaft and sprocket and chain drive, of the radius-bars 2l having their inner ends pivoted on the xed bearing-yoke of the crank-shaft, and having screw-threaded portions 'at their outer ends, of the castings with radius-rod passages h2 and paddle-y wheel shaft 53, at right angles to each other, and the nuts 26 working on the screw-threaded portions of said radius-bars against the opposite ends of the said casting 25, for adjustably connecting the said radius-bars and paddie-wheel shaft, whereby the chain may be tightened or loosened at will, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROYAL L. BOULTER. Vitnesses:

LEwrs FOSTER, WINTHROP B. BoUL'rER.

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